


How To Move A Mountain

by elrosa



Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-18 06:54:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16113149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elrosa/pseuds/elrosa
Summary: To fulfill a rash promise, Taylor has to overcome her fears and face a creature scarier than a dragon… but her friends won’t let her do it alone.





	How To Move A Mountain

**Author's Note:**

> The story takes place in my AU, where the whole gang made it off the island and even got a little addition.

Taylor leaned against the doorframe, cupped her hands around a mug and took a deep breath of the crisp evening air. The view in front of her was divine, almost like a painting—sky glowed with the magnificent hues of setting sun, last rays of sunlight flashed through the trees, the seashell path glittered, and a ruggedly handsome guy sat on the front steps.

It would be a really cheesy painting, she realized, but it made her heart flutter anyway. Or maybe it was the thought of her husband leaving for yet another two weeks—she could never get used to that part of his job.

Taylor took a sip of her tea and sat next to Jake. One quick glance told her something was off, and it wasn't just the usual “I hate to leave you two for so long” feeling. She carefully put down the cup and wrapped him in a hug.

“What is it?” She asked, resting her cheek on his arm.

“I was thinking about home.”

She squeezed him tighter. It was clear he missed his home a lot, even though he didn't talk about it much. At some point, they both realized that with all witnesses dead chances of clearing Jake's name were slim to none, and they kept tiptoeing around the painful subject since then. Even when they discussed their plans for the future, the possibility of going back to the States was never brought up.

“Why don't you tell me about it?” Taylor tilted her head to look at him and smiled encouragingly. “I'm sure you have a lot of embarrassing childhood stories to share.”

Jake kept gazing at the horizon and smiling at the memories in his head.

“It's not that embarrassing. I just remembered how I used to do the same thing back home. I sneaked out to have just one moment alone, without mom or Rebecca hanging over my shoulder. I remembered watching the sunset and wishing I was someplace else—”

Jake's voice trailed off, and Taylor clasped his hand in hers.

“And now that you are someplace else, you wish you could be back home.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Be careful what you wish for, right?” He turned to her with a sigh. “It doesn't mean that I'm not happy—”

“I know.”

“And that I don't love you—”

“I know.”

“I just miss them both.”

“I know.” Taylor tucked a strand of hair behind his ear and caressed his cheek. “And I promise, we'll find a way to bring you back.”

“Don't,” Jake replied in a dry voice, shaking his head. “Don't make promises you can't keep.”

“You know I don't. Not anymore.”

Her thoughts went back to the day when he promised him her love for a year and a day—and nearly broke that promise the very next day. It was a long time ago, almost in another lifetime, already forgiven—but not forgotten.

“Don't give me false hope.”

“I don't. I know there must be a way, and I'll find it.”

“Don’t fucking lie to me,” he said through gritted teeth, grabbing her wrist. “Not about this.”

Taylor's eyes widened at the sudden outburst, but her voice remained calm. “You're hurting me.”

Jake looked down and only then realized his grip was so tight his knuckles turned white.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered, releasing her hand and rubbing his thumbs over her wrist. “I didn't mean to hurt you.” He closed his eyes and added, “I don't want to talk about this. It's just too hard.”

“I know. I wish you could let me help you.” Taylor wrapped him in an embrace again and sighed. “It's getting late. Maybe we could try again when you get back?”

Jake nodded slowly.

***

Taylor woke up next morning to find her husband already left, and she couldn't stop the pang of disappointment. He used to wake her up to show her what exactly she was going to miss over the next weeks, but all she got this time was a short, quickly scribbled note. “I miss you already, Princess.”

She slid from under the covers with a sigh and went to the kitchen, checking Mike's room on her way. He was still asleep, so she probably had time for her morning coffee and a quick Google search.

How exactly does one smuggle a man across the border...?

Thirty minutes and three more espressos later Taylor's optimism was gone. Her husband still had a bounty on his head, and the whole affair seemed hopeless. She fiddled with a pen and tried to think. There was a solution. There must be. She could almost feel it, but it kept slipping from her grasp.

Her eyes fell on the framed photos on the wall, and she had to clasp her hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming with joy. Why didn't she think of it sooner...? She picked up her phone and sent a text.

“Hi, Zahra. Can you locate someone for me?”

Without waiting for a response, Taylor glanced at her watch and checked available flights. The first plane was leaving in four hours, so she grabbed her bag and started packing in a hurry. Clothes, toys, diapers—she crossed one item after another off her mental checklist.

“Mama?”

She turned at the sound of her son's voice. All the commotion woke Mike up, and Taylor ruffled his brown hair with a smile.

“Hello, little guy. We're going on an adventure.”

***

To Taylor's surprise, there was a welcoming committee waiting for her at the airport. Quinn and Diego. She didn't exactly ask Zahra to keep her visit a secret, but did she really have to call them? She was happy to see two of her best friends, but also a little annoyed. Mike, on the other hand, was excited to see his favorite uncle and jumped right into his arms squealing with joy.

“What are you two doing here?” Taylor asked, raising her brows.

“Hello to you too, Taylor!” Diego sneered.

“Zahra called us,” Quinn started to explain. “She said you're about to do something stupid and we have to bring you to her place before you land yourself in jail. What on earth are you doing?”

“She didn't tell you?”

“No.”

“It's a long story. I'll tell you at the apartment. I'm a little tired after the flight.”

It was the understatement of the century. Traveling alone was tiring enough, but doing it with an energetic two-year-old who kept running around like a chipmunk on caffeine brought the tiredness to a whole another level. Taylor fell asleep the moment she got in the car.

“We're here.” Quinn's gentle shake brought Taylor back to reality. She untangled Mike from the child seat as gently as she could, careful not to wake him up, and followed her friends into the apartment.

Zahra greeted her with a fist bump and sent Craig to the kitchen for some coffee. Taylor dropped onto the couch, and everyone looked at her in anticipation.

“Well?” Quinn broke the silence. “Can you finally tell us what's this all about?”

“It's complicated. I talked with Jake last night.” She sighed. “You have no idea how much he misses home. So I... I promised him I'll find a way to bring him home.”

“But... that's impossible, right?” Quinn looked at her with compassion.

“I couldn't think of anything that would work, so I asked myself, why trying to move a mountain?” Taylor smiled in a bad effort to cover her nervousness. “He can't go back home, but maybe I can get home to go to him.”

Everyone stared at her in confusion.

“She asked me to find his mother,” Zahra explained lightly, making the request sound completely normal. “So she could invite her to visit them in Costa Rica.”

Diego choked on his coffee and Quinn clasped her hands in delight.

“Oh, Taylor, that's so sweet!”

“More like stupid,” Zahra scowled. “How do you plan to do it, anyway?”

“I don't have a plan,” Taylor admitted reluctantly, shifting her sleeping son's weight in her arms. “I thought I would just go and try to talk to her and... see how it goes?”

“With Mike?”

“Why not?”

“I don't know if it's a good idea.” Quinn gestured at the toddler. “I mean, look at him. You could give her a heart attack if you just showed up on her doorstep with a kid that looks just like her long lost son.”

“You don't even know the woman! She could hate Jake for all we know. What if she calls the police?” Diego called out in protest. “What if her house is under surveillance?”

“What if she tells you to wait in line for the child support servi—ouch, what was that for?!” Craig winced as Zahra kicked his ankle with her heavy boot. “Remember how Jake bragged—”

“Shut up, Craig.” Zahra kicked him again. “It's not a good time for your stupid jokes.”

Taylor's cheeks burned bright red.

“Fine. Fine! I get it! You're right,” she said with breaking voice. “Maybe I didn't think that one through.” She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. “Do you have better ideas? Or any ideas at all?”

Nobody dared to look at her, let alone speak. Diego shuffled his feet, staring down at the floor, Craig kept massaging his leg and glancing at Zahra, who typed fast on her keyboard, and Quinn admired her nail polish.

Taylor sighed. She acted on an impulse, thinking everything will fall into place by itself, but as much as she hated to admit it, her friends were right. She needed a plan, and she needed it fast.

“Hah!” Zahra's excited cry startled them. “Band of noobs.”

“What did you find?” Taylor tried to peek at the screen.

“I can't believe they didn't even encrypt the database—”

“What is it?!”

Zahra shrugged and scanned the long wall of text.

“I found her interrogation file.” She pointed at the screen and chuckled, tapping it with her finger. “One thing for sure, she doesn't hate him. All they got out of her was a stream of curses. She says he's innocent, and the charges are bull.”

A huge weight fell off Taylor's shoulders. She had an image of Jake's mother in her head, pieced carefully from little scraps of conversation, and she didn't seem like a woman who could ever give up on her child. Bossy and harsh at times, but also warm and loving. No wonder he missed her so much.

She hugged Mike closer, struck by a sudden thought. Jake's mom probably missed him just as much as he did.

“It's actually kinda weird, isn't it?” Quinn asked, looking around. “I mean, Jake's sister is a police officer, right? They accused him of pretty bad things. Do you think they would let Rebecca work in the force if they didn't already know he was set up?”

“You know how it is.” Taylor shrugged. “They needed a scapegoat, so they got one.”

“We know this, but his mom doesn't.”

“Well, we're still at square one. What should I say? We already crossed ‘Hi, your son is alive and well, and oh, by the way, I'm his wife, nice to meet you’ from the list.”

“I have an idea,” said Diego in a low voice. “Maybe it's a stupid one. But if anyone could pull it off, it's you, Taylor.”

“Shoot.”

“You could pretend to be a reporter. Or a writer collecting materials for a book about people accused of crimes they didn't commit.”

“This could work. A reporter can ask all kinds of questions,” Zahra cleared her throat and looked away, trying to hide her sudden embarrassment. “And you're quite good in getting people to open up and trust you.”

“Let's do it,” Taylor said decisively. “Can you find her number?”

She pushed the sleeping child into Quinn's arms and scribbled the digits on a scrap of paper.

“Keep your fingers crossed. I don't think I've ever been this nervous in my entire life.” Taylor took a deep breath, grabbed her phone and went out on the balcony.

“God, I would rather be talking to Rourke again,” she mumbled under her breath. “Oh. Hi. Mrs. McKenzie...?”

Her friends held their breaths in suspense. When Taylor finally came back to the room, all eyes were on her.

“I did it!” She said with a triumphant smile. “She agreed to meet me in two days. I'll better start booking flights.”

“No need.” Zahra fanned herself with a bunch of printed sheets. “I already got us covered. We're going to Louisiana tomorrow.”

“We...?” Taylor gaped at her.

“You didn't think we would let you go alone, didn't you?”

“There be dragons!” Diego crossed his arms and looked at her defiantly.

“More like gators. And swamps,” Quinn chuckled. “Not to mention scary mothers-in-law.”

“Guys—” Taylor had to blink away the tears welling in her eyes. “I love you.”

***

“Okay, let me go through it again.” Taylor rubbed her forehead. “Quinn, Diego, you stay here and take care of Mike. Zahra, Craig, you drop me off at her house and stay somewhere near in case I need help. I try to stay calm and not pass out. Are we clear?”

Zahra fished a tiny black device from her pocket.

“Take this. We need to know what's happening.”

“An earpiece? What is it, a spy mission?” Taylor rolled her eyes. “Don't you think it's a little bit of overkill?”

“No.”

There was no arguing with her. Taylor shrugged, put the device into her ear and brushed her hair on the side to cover it. She took one last glance in the mirror and nodded to her friends.

“I'm ready. Let's go.”

She put on a brave face, but in reality her hands were shaking, her knees felt weak, her heart rate went through the roof, her stomach kept churning, and cold sweat trickled down her back.

“If I die up here, tell Jake I loved him,” she sniffed. “But if you mention it was because his mother scared me shitless, I will come back to haunt you.”

Craig snorted loudly. “Well, the name monster-in-law didn't come from nowhere—”

“Craig.” Zahra forced her lips into a smile, but her voice held a warning.

“I'm speaking from experience!”

“Craig!”

Taylor stifled a laugh. Usually listening to someone's bickering would make her feel uneasy, but right now it helped to break the tension.

Zahra pulled up in front of a small house and checked her phone.

“It looks like we're here.” She opened an app and tapped a few buttons. “I'll record everything you hear, and you should be able to hear me. Now, in case you get in trouble, we need a safeword.”

“How about...” Taylor tried to think of one, but her mind went suddenly blank. “Furball?”

Zahra nodded. “Sounds strange, but you can't mention him by accident. Good luck, Taylor.”

Taylor got out of the car and slowly started to climb the front steps. Her fingertips tingled slightly, and she still felt queasy, but there was no turning back. She took a deep breath and knocked at the door, holding her backpack like a shield. One. Two. Three. She raised her hand again when the door opened.

The woman was younger than she expected, a little on the short side, with chestnut hair and familiar blue eyes. “Nothing to be afraid of,” told the rational part of her brain, but her heart didn't listen and kept beating so fast she was afraid it was going to burst from her chest.

She tried to smile. “Hi. I'm Taylor. We talked on the phone...?”

“Nice to meet you. I'm Rachel.” Her handshake was warm and firm, and her friendly smile seemed genuine enough. “Come on in.”

Taylor followed her inside, trying to ignore Zahra whispering into her ear. “Welcome to the dragon's lair”? She rolled her eyes. What were they, twelve? Her friend spent way too much time playing video games. Her mother-in-law didn't look like a dragon at all... but somehow it was even worse. At least dragons weren't real.

“Would you like something to drink? I make good coffee.”

“I like her already.” Zahra again. Taylor resisted the urge to shut her up and smiled at Jake's mother.

“I'd love some. Thank you.”

She walked over to a wall full of pictures. Some were old, some more recent, but they all told the story of a happy family, the black sheep included. Her heart tightened. Jake always talked about how big of a disappointment he was, how he failed his mother, how he broke her heart, and never tried to contact her out of shame. But if this were true, why would she keep his pictures on her wall, where she could see them every day?

Taylor looked at a younger version of her husband staring from the photo with piercing blue eyes and his signature lopsided smirk.

“No,” she thought, shaking her head, “You are wrong. And I'm here to fix it.”

“Handsome, isn't he?” Rachel walked next to her and looked at the photo with a mixture of pride and sadness in her eyes. “But let me tell you, that boy was trouble.”

“Oh, I know,” Taylor blurted out without thinking and cursed herself in her thoughts. “I mean, I have a son too. He's just two, but he's already a handful.”

Jake's mother looked at her from head to toes and Taylor felt herself shrinking under her gaze, but apparently, she passed the test. Rachel nodded at her.

“You look young.”

“It was... kind of a rushed affair.” Taylor looked away, her cheeks burning red. “Love at first sight. We got married just a few weeks later.” She fiddled with her ring. “But I wouldn't have it any other way, you know?”

“Your husband must be one lucky man.” Her mother-in-law smiled at her. “Now, sit down and have some pie.”

“Oh, I don't want to be any trouble—”

“Nonsense, dear.” She cut a generous piece and winked at her. “So, what would you like to know?”

“I was hoping you could tell me more about your son. What was he like growing up?”

Taylor ignored Zahra's yawn. The question seemed like something out of a writer's textbook, and she was actually really interested in the answer. Not to mention that asking a mother about her child was a pretty universal icebreaker, and it worked in this case, too. Rachel started to tell her all about Jake's childhood, and Taylor didn't even have to ask questions. Photo albums piled on the table, they both giggled over particularly embarrassing stories, when suddenly the older woman stopped mid-sentence and looked at her with knitted brows.

“You aren't taking notes?”

Taylor's stomach dropped. Crap. Notes. Why didn't she think of notes? She looked her mother-in-law in the eye and decided to drop the act.

“The truth is...” She took a deep breath. “I'm not writing a book. I couldn't put two words together even if I tried.”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Zahra and Craig shouted in unison, but she ignored them, transfixed by the sudden change of air.

“Get out,” Rachel demanded in taut voice. Her blue eyes were cold and no longer friendly, and Taylor felt the shiver creeping down her spine. “How many times do I have to tell you to leave me alone? I haven't heard from my son in years. Maybe he's already dead. I don't know where he is. And even if I did, why should I tell you anything? So you could put him in jail? I am not letting that happen, you hear me?!”

Taylor reached for her backpack, pulled it to her lap and unzipped front pocket.

“I'm not the police,” she said softly.

“Then who are you? What do you want from me?” Her mother-in-law eyed her warily. “Why are you here?”

Taylor pulled out her own photo album and placed it carefully on the table, keeping her hand on the cover.

“Because I know your son is alive,” she whispered. “I know just how badly he misses you. And”—she hesitated—“I know where he is.”

They stared at each other, letting the words sink in. Taylor pushed the album to her.

“Maybe this will help you understand. I wish we had met sooner. But he thought—I thought—it's far away—” Taylor stuttered. The lump in her throat got so big that she couldn't breathe.

“What's going on? Should we go in?” Craig sounded concerned, but Zahra brushed it off.

“Give her a minute. You know she always gets what she wants.”

Jake's mother reached for the album and Taylor closed her eyes when she looked inside. She didn't know what she expected, but it surely wasn't the deafening silence. She could hear the blood thudding in her ears, and the sound of turning pages was as loud as thunder. She finally dared to look at the woman sitting across her after what felt like an eternity.

“All these years... I didn't even know if he was dead or alive.” She traced one of the photos with her finger. “I prayed he's safe and sound somewhere out there... why didn't he tell me?”

Taylor held her hand. “He convinced himself that you hate him. That he disappointed you and—”

“Then he's even more stupid than I thought,” she said bitterly.

“I fucking love her!” Zahra's throaty laugh ringed in Taylor's ears.

“But why now?” Rachel studied Taylor's face carefully. “Let me guess. This was all your idea? Jake doesn't know you're here?”

“No,” she admitted, “And he would probably kill me if he did. But I couldn't sit there and do nothing, so I thought it was worth a shot.”

“So you just hopped on a plane and came here? God, you two are really worth each other.” Her mother-in-law laughed, brushing a tear from her cheek. “And I think now it's your turn to tell me about him.”

***

Taylor heard the keys clinking and rushed to the door. Jake was finally home. It was already getting late, and she was getting nervous.

Her husband smiled broadly, dropped his bag and pulled her close. “You have no idea how I missed you,” he whispered between kisses. Taylor pushed him gently.

“You have a visitor.”

“Me?”

She gestured for him to follow. His mother was sitting in a chair, lamp casting soft shadows over her face. Taylor smiled at her, trying to tell her everything was going to be alright, but she could see how nervous she was.

Jake gasped at the sight, and Taylor turned to him. She had never seen such a look on his face—shock, surprise, happiness, hope, love, everything at once. There was no sound except for their breathing. Jake kept staring at his mother, not daring to believe she's really here. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He finally moved, slowly at first, then more swiftly, until he finally dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around her, his shoulder shaking with sobs.

Taylor stepped out of the room. Her cheeks were wet, her hands trembled, and she had to lean on the wall for support. She felt like she just witnessed something private, not meant for her eyes at all. She knew it was going to be a whirlwind of emotions, but it still caught her off-guard.

Perhaps the most unexpected thing was that she wasn't only happy for them both. Deep inside her, she felt a hint of jealousy and sadness. She would never have something like that. She was a girl with no past.

Taylor grabbed a book from the shelf and sat on the bed, smiling to herself. Maybe she didn't have much of a past, but she still had a present and a future, and right now they both looked really bright.

***

“Princess, we need to talk.”

“You're welcome,” she responded without looking up from the novel she was reading.

“I don't know if I should kill you, or kiss you.” Jake took the book out of her hands and sat next to her, shaking his head in bewildered admiration. “You're mad. Absolutely, positively, completely mad.”

“Well, I had some help—”

“Come on. Don’t act like you’re so innocent in all of this! Only you could be crazy enough to come up with such an idea.” His thumb caressed her cheek. “And only you could be lucky enough to pull it off.”

Taylor stared into his smiling eyes and felt proud. She would face thousand more dragons only to have him look at her like that again. She pulled him closer until there was no space left between them and pressed her lips to his. The kiss started slow and gentle, but it didn't stay like that for too long. It was one of the kisses that left her breathless and made her forget the rest of the world, one that filled every corner of her body with warmth and made the air spark with electricity.

“God, I'll never be able to thank you enough,” Jake whispered when their lips finally parted, and she chuckled, closing the distance between them again.

“I can't wait to see you try.”


End file.
